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Do IT this week: Layering
Area counties expect headaches if thousands wait till last day or two
By Stephanie Warsmith
Beacon Journal staff writer
Published on Saturday, May 31, 2008
Worried that a long wait on Election Day might prevent her from voting for the first time, Joelle Diane Baker went to the Summit County elections board early — the day before the March election — to vote absentee.
But the Firestone High senior ended up standing in line for two hours, part of the time outside — probably a longer wait than she would have encountered at the polls on Election Day.
Baker was wearing shorts and got a little cold, but said she didn't mind.
''It was real exciting to be there,'' she said. ''It's such an interesting election.''
Baker was among hundreds of voters in Summit and many other Ohio counties who were faced with lengthy waits and parking shortages when they tried to cast their absentee ballots before the March 4 primary.
And a much bigger turnout, including more absentee voters, is expected this November — the first presidential election since a change in Ohio law that permits absentee voting without a special reason.
As a result, election officials are scrambling to get ready. Bryan Williams, deputy director of the Summit elections board — which is projecting more than 100,000 absentee voters in November — compares this to the scene in the movie the Please see Absentee, A5
Poseidon Adventure, when they spot a giant tidal wave coming toward them and scream, ''Oh, my God!''
But Marijean Donofrio, the board's director, says a Titanic analogy might be more apt.
To avoid disaster, Summit and other elections boards are considering various steps, including finding more space, hiring staff, and extending hours before election. But that comes at a price, which is a concern for the boards — most of which received less than requested for their budgets.
Staggering statistics
Before 2006, voters had to fill out a form checking one of 11 reasons for an absentee ballot — including being out of town, illness, imprisonment or age — none of which election officials attempted to verify.
Now, absentee votes can be cast by mail or in person at elections boards without a special reason. For mail, voters must fill out an application to have ballots sent to them and returned by Election Day. If voting in person, applications and ballots can be filled out at the same time.
As a consequence, the numbers of absentee voters has become staggering. Consider this:
• Statewide, more than 500,000 people voted absentee in the March primary. More than half were in the eight largest urban counties, including Stark and Summit.
• The number of absentee voters more than doubled between the presidential primaries in 2000 and 2008 in Medina, Portage, Stark and Wayne counties. In Summit, the number more than tripled.
• Medina, Portage, Stark and Wayne counties expect double or triple the number of absentee voters this fall as in the November 2000 election. Summit is projecting its number to go up six times, from 17,896 to 103,313.
• About one in five voters in the Akron-Canton area is expected to vote absentee this fall.
Plans under discussion
Voting at the mall, a car dealership or the zoo — all are possibilities the Summit board has explored to handle the influx.
The board, which is expecting at least 20,000 to cast absentee ballots in person this fall, would like to have two other voting locations — one each on the county's east and west sides.
This, however, would require a change in state law, which now says a board may designate only one location for absentee voting. Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner tried — but was unsuccessful — in getting an amendment into legislation approved this week to allow boards to pick up to three additional sites. She was disappointed the change wasn't included in a bill that awaits Gov. Ted Strickland's signature.
''The boards do need some relief on this,'' Brunner said during a recent telephone interview.
The Summit board still may designate another spot for absentee voting. Board members are seriously considering the Job Center, a county building on Tallmadge Avenue where votes could be cast early instead of at the board office — a change likely to cause confusion.
''It would be a community outreach issue,'' Williams said.
Stark County, which also had long waits in March, expects 40,000 absentee voters this fall and officials are concerned about the space to process the ballots.
''Because you have multiple people working, it has to be laid out so they have the space to work,'' said Jeff Matthews, the board's deputy director. ''Our areas are not configured for it. We are looking into the possibility of additional space.''
In the week before the March election, the Cuyahoga County board had 500 to 600 voters standing in line daily, with some waiting three to four hours. They were escorted in small groups to the second floor, where ballots were cast.
The board has a warehouse about 10 blocks away and is considering having absentee voting there in the fall.
''We've also had discussion of branch offices, but haven't scratched the surface on that,'' said Jane Platten, the board's director. ''We're not entirely sure how to address this.''
The absentee problem isn't unique to urban counties. The Medina board had long lines the day before the primary and is anticipating 20,000 absentee voters this fall.
The board, in the same building as the county health department, hopes to use the department's conference room for voting for at least the week before the fall election.
Janet Pilat, the board's director, said she'd eventually like to have absentee voting in Brunswick and Wadsworth but doesn't think that would have been possible this fall, even if the law had been changed.
Cost of convenience
Officials say the increase in absentees is both good and bad because even though it helps lessen Election Day lines, the ballots take longer to process.
''Absentee voting is a convenience but the convenience comes at a cost to the taxpayer,'' said Williams of the Summit board.
Williams said it takes about 20 minutes to process an absentee ballot, which means employees can do about three an hour, translating to $7 or $8 a ballot, at a minimum. With 100,000 ballots, the price tag would be $700,000 to $800,000.
The Summit board handled more than 33,000 absentee ballots in the 2006 gubernatorial election. Employees worked until 7 or 8 p.m. and on weekends to deal with the volume, Williams said.
Like boards in many other counties, the Summit board didn't receive the budget it requested, getting about $3 million less than the $9.6 million it sought. Williams said how much more the board will need depends on the amount of staff necessary for the fall election. The board will again meet with county leaders — who are facing their own fiscal problems — in June.
The Stark board also got less than requested. It sought $2.9 million but got about $2 million.
Matthews, who estimated another $400,000 to $600,000 is needed to cover costs, said many of the expenses are fixed, such as $60,000 for postage.
''The presidential election year is not the time to go cheap on elections,'' he said. ''If you think a good election is expensive, you ought to see the cost of a bad one.''
In Medina, the board is asking commissioners for another $30,000 for staff.
''We remind them we have a good election here,'' Pilat said. ''We want to keep it that way.''
What motivates voters
Hudson executive Eric Roegner is no stranger to absentee voting.
Because he often travels for business, he votes absentee.
Roegner, who runs an aluminum company, figured time into his schedule to go to the elections board in March to vote, but didn't allow enough time. Standing in line for over an hour, he missed a conference call and was worried he might miss a flight.
''It was actually kind of fun to see,'' Roegner said. ''I found it fascinating — a real treat. This is the democratic process. Nothing like a little bit of competition to get people out to vote.''
Roegner, a Republican, said most people in line were Democrats, many of them encouraged to vote early by the campaigns.
He said he voted for former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee — who dropped out of the race after Ohio's primary — to send a message to presumed GOP nominee John McCain that there are evangelical Christians and ''don't forget about us.''
Roegner, 38, plans to vote absentee in November but will do so sooner and will give himself more time, just in case.
Baker, the Firestone High senior, also probably will vote absentee this fall, while attending the Columbus College of Art & Design. She plans to vote for Sen. Barack Obama, the leading Democratic candidate, whom she's liked for several years.
To avoid long waits, Matthews of the Stark board has this advice: Vote early. Absentee voting starts Sept. 30.
''You will experience lines if you wait until the last couple of days,'' he said. ''There's no way around that. There's a reason why it's offered for 35 days and not two days.''
Stephanie Warsmith can be reached at
330-996-3705 or swarsmith@thebeacon
journal.com.
Worried that a long wait on Election Day might prevent her from voting for the first time, Joelle Diane Baker went to the Summit County elections board early — the day before the March election — to vote absentee.
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